Story: Canterbury places

The Canterbury Bight

The long coastline of the Canterbury Bight runs almost without interruption from Banks Peninsula south to Timaru. The shingle beach is composed of material eroded from the Southern Alps and carried down rivers to the coast.

Using this item

GNS Science

Reference: CN24299/13

by Lloyd Homer

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

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How to cite this page

John Wilson, Canterbury places – Mid-Canterbury Plains, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10279/the-canterbury-bight (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 2 March 2009, updated 17 August 2015.

Comments

Kathaleen
26 October 2010

The Canterbury Bight is a long stretch of coastland that runs all the way near Canterbury. It is very significant because it is a part of New Zealand around our coast, which includes long stretches of beaches and the ocean.